Great Pumpkin Disappears

130-pound Gourd Lifted From Nn Front Porch

NEWPORT NEWS — When Buddy and Eva Wakefield's daughter delivered a 130-pound Halloween present last week, they barely managed to roll it out of her van, up their front yard and onto the porch. Phew!

That's why they figure the Grinch who swiped their gigantic pumpkin had to be hale and hardy - with a bunch of big, strong pals to help out.

``It was just a challenge to some kids - but not little kids,'' Buddy Wakefield said Monday, standing at the former site of the enormous gourd.

``Yesterday I spent all day waiting for it to come back,'' said Eva Wakefield. ``But it didn't.''

The Wakefields' daughter, Jerry Henderson, grew the pumpkin from a seed. It was her first garden ever, they say, and she had no idea her pumpkin patch would produce such a hefty harvest. There were four others just as big.

The pumpkin tipped the bathroom scale at exactly 130 pounds. That's quite a bit bigger than your average pumpkin - most are somewhere between 15 and 30 pounds - but nowhere near your record-breaking produce.

In fact, the folks at the Virginia State Fair say 130 pounds is small potatoes. The biggest pumpkin at this year's fair, grown by Bert Turner of Burkeville, weighed in at 363 pounds.

``It took eight people to move it,'' said Jay Lugar, spokesman for the fair.

The all-time winner was entered last year. Grown by Curtis Sink of Rocky Mount, it was 436 pounds, said Clay Roberts, coordinator of agriculture programs for the fair.

``We know ours wasn't the biggest pumpkin, but it was the biggest one we've ever had,'' Buddy Wakefield said.

They had planned to bestow the giant fruit on their great-grandson, Zachary Stiffler, but it wouldn't fit into his mom's Honda. So the Wakefields' porch became home - at least for a week.

Eva Wakefield first noticed the pumpkin missing Sunday when she walked outside to fetch the newspaper. Buddy Wakefield quickly called the cops. He doesn't think they'll find it, but he wanted them to know someone had been skulking around on his porch Saturday night.

``I said to them, `Don't laugh until I finish this story,' '' he said.

The Wakefields, who live on Linda Drive in Stoneybrook Estates, drove all over the neighborhood looking for the gourd. They'd know it anywhere: Aside from its enormous girth, it has several long scratches down the front - or maybe the back - courtesy of their daughter's golden retriever. The dog clawed the pumpkin and, as the gourd grew, so did the scratches.

The Wakefields have their mail carrier on the case, too.

But so far, alas, the search has been fruitless.

The Wakefields are sad about their missing pumpkin, but they've managed to put the theft into perspective.

``It was a midnight caper, but at least they didn't smash it here,'' Buddy Wakefield said. ``It would have been a mess.

``Make that a big mess.''

BIG FEAST

If the Wakefields' 130-pound pumpkin were ever returned, they could bake 86 regular-size pumpkin pies - or one giant pie that would serve 520 people.